ASU Biodesign director moves into research post

July 17, 2008

By Flinn Foundation

[Source: Ken Alltucker, The Arizona Republic] – Arizona State University has appointed its Biodesign Institute Director George Poste to a new research position.

Poste will take on the role of chief scientist for an ASU endeavor called the “complex adaptive systems initiative” that seeks to pool the university’s intellectual firepower and bolster its research reputation.

Poste, who was appointed May 2003 to his director post, will remain as executive director of Biodesign until his replacement is hired.

ASU’s Neal Woodbury is now Biodesign’s deputy director and will shoulder some of the institute’s workload as Poste establishes the new initiative.

“The deal I had with George was to take five years and get Biodesign established as an internationally prominent institute, and we achieved that,” ASU President Michael Crow said. “Now, I want him to develop the broader scientific trajectory for ASU.”

Poste will be charged with boosting ASU’s research competitiveness in emerging areas such as synthetic biology, sensor technologies and health-care informatics.

Crow said Poste will have a small staff and budget in excess of $1 million.

Under Poste, the Biodesign Institute has generated $199 million in funding and filed many patents.